SPORTS
Bowie’s Dominion Boxing brings combat sports to the county
Dominion Boxing is hosting its 11th Smoker Fight night starting at 5:30 p.m. on June 19.
Next month will mark a year since the combat focused workout gym/emerging fighting team started hosting Smoker Fights which was key to its explosive growth.
Smoker Fights are unsanctioned exhibitions fighters use to get ready for a sanctioned fight, or the smoke before the fire so to say. Winning and losing isn’t important, its about getting live rounds against an opponent.
They are generally hosted at gyms and are not well publicized or have much flare to them.
Owner and operator of Dominion Boxing Eric Villarreal has been apart of his far share after his recent entry into the fighting world. He wanted his Smoker Fights to be different.
“We travelled all over Texas and saw sanctioned real fights,” Villarreal said. “Those would be productions, they would be shows. There would be lighting, ticket sales, alcohol sales. We took a little bit of that world, the showmanship and we transferred it the Smoker Fights.”
While the production quality is there, it was also the timing of it all that attracted fighters from all over.
“During COVID every gym was closed and there was nowhere to go,” Villarreal said. “We kind of cashed in on that because we were still holding fights in Bowie because the restrictions were a little less here.”
As more and more people have come on and started making the gym in Bowie their home base of operations, more and more opportunities are sprouting up for Dominion Boxing.
“We have both the cardio fitness model and the now organically, we just fell into having this competitive fighting model, both streamlining out of the same facility,” Villarreal said. “I don’t know how we got here because if I could understand it I could undo it. It just organically happened with me letting go of control and letting the people build the gym.”
Mixed martial arts and grappling coaches have come to the gym to help the growing stable of local fighters train for bouts all across the southern part of the country on weekends. The fight team at the gym is called Dominion Training Camp.
Villarreal is in the process of getting his license so they can start hosting sanctioned fights. He hopes to be approved by this fall.
Once he is licensed the city of Bowie has already approved he can move the show to the community center to host MMA fight nights since the gym can hold only so much of the crowds coming to the Smoker Fights every month.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News.
In its’ second consecutive playoff trip, Bowie’s volleyball team gave it a valiant effort against San Angelo Texas Leadership Charter Academy. The Eagles proved to be too much with an athletic frontcourt proving too much in a 3-0 win (25-20,25-21,25-18) Oct. 29 at Breckenridge High.
Bowie led midway though all three sets but the Eagles were able to come from behind and pull out the win.
The Eagles got out quickly with a 5-0 lead in the opener. The Lady Rabbits showed some gumption and stormed right back with a Taelyn Webb dink breaking serve. Junior Molly Enlow rolled off four points to knot the game at five. KP Rutherford’s kil kept the drive alive.
Olivia Stewart’s kill set the stage for Serenity Klump’s three-point string. Frontcourt work by Ellie Mowery and Stewart allowed Bowie to take a 10-9 lead. Bowie maintained the lead thanks to dinks by Abby Reneau and Stewart, which forced the Eagles into a timeout.
For further details, pick up a copy of Thursday’s Bowie News.
In its first playoff game of 2026, Saint Jo took control after a slow start and wound up cruising past Garner 3-0 (25-20, 25-17, 25-16) in a Class A area round game Nov. 2.
The Lady Panthers will face Strawn, which swept Crowell in the area round, next. No further details were available as of press time.
The Lady Longhorns showed they were ready to play in the early going, getting out to a 9-4 lead in game one. Saint Jo broke serve and used a pair of Kamron Skidmore points, aided by Savannah Hill kills on both points to get within one.
Garner led by six midway through the set before Hill’s five-point serving run, helped along by a Skidmore kill to draw within 13-14. A Skidmore kill was followed by two Skidmore points, including an ace, to tie the game at 19.
For further details, pick up a copy of Thursday’s Bowie News.
Several county schools will have runners at the state cross country meet Nov. 7 at Old Settlers Park in Round Rock.
Bowie, which qualified for regionals with a 3rd place finish at the District 6-3A Meet, will have both Brayden Willett and Kellen Rater, who finished in the top 10 individually. Willett finished 3rd in the Class 3A Region I Meet in Lubbock with a time of 16:17.20. Kellen Rater finished 10th with a time of 16:51.60.
Other Rabbits competing were Hayden Cox with a time of 18:56.30, Hayden Sutton in 19:41.60, Taven Melton in 19:59.20. Coleman Holloway in 20:26.80and Jaxon Castro in 20:56.10.
The top 10 individuals and top four teams from each region qualify for State.
For further details, pick up a copy of Thursday’s Bowie News
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